Foxtel steps up ‘Express from the US’

Foxtel has confirmed more shows will get the Express from the US treatment.

There will be more than 40 series fast-tracked across present and coming months.

Foxtel Executive Director of Television Brian Walsh said, “Our strategy is simple, deliver the best TV to our audiences as it becomes available. Closing the window between US or UK premiere dates and the program launch here in Australia is our priority.

“This strategy has so far been very successful, for example this season of The Walking Dead, which is broadcast Express from the US only 33 hours after US transmission, has delivered larger audiences to Foxtel’s seeing more people sourcing the program legally.

“Currently and coming up in the next few months we’re proud to say we’ve secured the best, most talked about premium programs Express from the US for our customers including the thrilling season returns of Game of Thrones and True Blood, along with Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Dexter and Boardwalk Empire all on showcase. Joining these exciting series on Foxtel is Falling Skies Season 3 on FOX8, and the new drama Da Vinci’s Demons and The Walking Dead Season 4 on FX, along with many other drama, reality and comedy acquisitions.”

Express from the US titles on air and coming up on Foxtel include:

showcase · Game of Thrones Season 3 premiering within two hours of its US broadcast Monday, April 1 at 4.20pm (8.35pm primetime). · VEEP Season 2, starting within 2 hours of its US broadcast Monday, April 15 at 4.45pm (8.00pm primetime). · Mad Men Season 6 commencing within 4 hours of US broadcast Monday, April 8 at 4.45pm (9.45pm primetime). · True Blood Season 6 coming soon the same day and date as US broadcast. · Breaking Bad Season 5, the final eight episodes coming soon. · Dexter Season 8, the final season coming soon. · Boardwalk Empire Season 4 coming soon. · Sons of Anarchy Season 6 coming soon.

SoHo · Smash Season 2 is broadcast three days following US broadcast Tuesdays at 7.30pm. · Coming soon in June Magic City Season 2 and The Glades Season 4 within days of US broadcast.

FOX8 · Revolution Season 1 has returned Wednesdays at 8.30pm premiering 36 hours after its NBC debut. · Grimm Season 2 has returned Sundays at 8.30pm within 36 hours of US broadcast. · Hart of Dixie Season 2 Mondays at 8.30pm within seven days of the US. · Celebrity Apprentice All Stars Season 6 Mondays at 9.30pm less than 24 hours after US broadcast. · The Vampire Diaries Season 4 Fridays at 9.30pm within seven days of the US. · Falling Skies Season 3 will return in June airing within three days of US broadcast. · Pretty Little Liars Season 4 starting in June will air within three days of US broadcast. · WWE Raw and WWE Smackdown air each week on FOX8 within 48 hours of the US.

FX · The Walking Dead Season 3 Tuesdays at 8.30pm just 33 hours after the US, and The Walking Dead Season 4 is coming soon Express from the US. · Da Vinci’s Demons premiering Tuesday, April 16 at 7.30pm within days of US broadcast. · Justified Season 4 airs within days of the US on Wednesdays at 9.30pm. · The Ultimate Fighter 17 premieres just thirty minutes after the US on Wednesdays at 4.30pm. · The Bridge will be Express from the US in July. · Low Winter Sun will be Express from the US coming soon.

Arena · Katie screens weekdays at 5.30pm and will air the same day as US broadcast from Monday, April 8. · The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 3 airing within seven hours of the US on Tuesdays at 8.30pm. · Don’t Trust The B**** in Apt 23 Season 2 just five days after the US on Mondays at 8.00pm. · The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 8 starting Tuesday April 2 the same day as the US. · The Kandi Factory starts Monday April 15 at 8.30pm Season 1, airing five days after the US. · Continuing Thursdays from 8.30pm is The Rachel Zoe Project Season 5, It’s A Brad Brad World Season 2, and Dukes of Melrose Season 1 all airing within a week of the US. · From June the following programs will premiere within days of the US broadcast – The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 5, The Real Housewives of Miami Season 3, and Interior Therapy Season 2.

The Comedy Channel · The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, are already airing within 12 hours of the US. · Tosh.0 Season 5 airs within 48hrs of US broadcast on Thursdays at 9.00pm.

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11 Comments:

@ Daren, David & James – Foxtel announced at their 2013 programming launch that The Newsroom would be fast tracked on Showcase. It was an obvious decision given it is a HBO series and Showcase is the “home of HBO”, but its bound to cause havoc given the first season was available to all subscribers (with SoHo in the Essentials pack) and now it’s only available to movie subscribers. They started rerunning season 1 last month in preparation for season 2.

S3 of The Walking Dead’s ratings are up globally.
In the US the S3 premiere was up 50% on S2 and 102% on S1.

There is no evidence of any decrease in illegal downloading. Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead are still the most illegally downloaded shows in Australia. Their argument is just post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy.

There is little reason for Foxtel not to fast-track premium cable shows. They don’t have production breaks and they may as well offer that to subscribers who like it to keep them happy. They will repeat the series for those who don’t have time to watch every show on the planet during Summer.

The main aim though is spin to encourage the Government to prosecute pirates to protect their business and to increase dissatisfaction with FTA, a driver of sales for Foxtel.

The only problem they have had is with the quick showings is censoring one episode of Girls before it went to air.